Fall 2012 Syllabus

Professor Andre Peltier
Office: 617C Pray Harrold
Phone: (734)487-1041
E-Mail: apeltier@emich.edu
andrepeltier@hotmail.com
peltierandre1@gmaial.com

Sec 000 CRN 12676
Room: Pray Harrold 308
T/Th 9:30-10-45

Sec 006 CRN 12679
Room: Porter 213
Time: M/W 9:30-10:45

Office Hours: T/R 7:00-8:00, 1:00-2:00, 11:00-12:00, M/W 8:30-9:30, 2:30-3:30


General Education Rationales:
U.S. Diversity
Literature 160 introduces students to the study of African American literature, thought and cultural practices through an examination of the oral traditions and literary texts of African Americans. Through the study of spoken stories and written texts we will also examine the formation and expression of African American identity in relation to Europeans and other non-white ethnic groups. The class will explore the legacy of slavery in its many forms, including disenfranchisement, racial and economic segregation and the history of violence against African Americans, as well as the struggle of African Americans to be recognized as an integral political and cultural presence within the United States. Through the reading, discussion and analysis of African American literature, we will examine the development of this literary tradition and the histories, philosophies, and sociological and cultural practices of African Americans.

Humanities
Literature 160 introduces students to the study of the literary texts, and oral forms such as folklore and music which have shaped the written tradition, of African Americans. This course will examine what constitutes this tradition as specific writers and literary movements have shaped it through the study of: genre, narrative strategies, themes, metaphors and motifs, the tradition’s relationship to the other literatures of the United States, and the historical context which this literature both reflects and intervenes in. Students will become conversant with critical terminology and interpretive practices which are historically and culturally sensitive in the reading, discussion, and analysis of African American literature.
Please note that this course can be elected to fulfill the General Education requirement in U.S. Diversity or the humanities, but cannot serve as both.


Course Outcomes: By the end of the semester, students should
=> have an understanding of the works discussed throughout the semester
=> have an understanding of the cultural background from which the works came
=> be literate in the critical terminology used to discuss literature
=> be able to critically discuss both poetry and prose.



Course Requirements:
=> A two page analysis paper is to be type-written before the mid-term exam. It is due by September 26/27. It should be written about the works being covered on the days you are submitting them, not works previously covered in class. It should be a formal analysis, not a personal response. Don’t explain why you liked the work, or how you related to it, but rather, analyze an aspect of the work itself. Furthermore, don’t simply summarize the text!
=> A second two page paper will be due on November 26/27. It should follow the same format as the first two page paper.
=> A one page explanation of the book you’ve chosen off of the list is due by October 3/4. The sooner you chose your book, the more likely the one you want will still be available. Explain why you’re interested in it and the way you plan to address it in the paper. Also include information about how you plan to research your focus.
=> There will be twelve pop quizzes throughout the semester, based on what was assigned for the day of the quiz. The lowest will be dropped.
=> There will be one five page paper due on November 12/13. This will be an analysis of the novel you chose from the list. You should include at least three secondary sources from books or the library databases.
=> There will be two essay exams: a mid-term and a final. The Mid-term is due October 22/23 and the Final is due on December 17/18.

Course Policies:
=> Turn off all cell phones & mp3 players. Do not play with them in class. If you are seen messing around with them, they will be confiscated.
=> If you are absent, find out what you missed from a class mate. It is a good idea to exchange phone numbers with people for this purpose.
=> Lap Top computers may be used, but only for course purposes.
=> All work must be typed (with a font size of 10-12 and in Times New Roman typeface), double spaced, stapled and complete, following the standard MLA format.

Course Supplies:
=>Gates, Henry Louis, Jr. and Nellie McKay eds. The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. 2nd Edition. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2004. Print
=> Butler, Octavia. Kindred. New York: Beacon, 1979. Print.
=> Johnson, T. Geronimo. Hold it Til it Hurts. New York: Coffee House Press, 2012. Print
Plagiarism: This is the act of using a source (a quote, a fact, or a paraphrase) without properly citing the information (i.e. giving credit where it is due). This is often done accidentally, without knowing how to properly cite things. The conventions will be covered throughout the semester so as to take care of this problem.

Department Participation and Attendance Policy:
=> Students enrolled in English Department classes are expected to participate in daily interactive activities. They will, for example, routinely discuss reading assignments, write in class on impromptu topics, participate in collaborative activities, or engage in peer review of drafts. Students who miss these activities cannot reasonably make them up. As a result, students who do not participate regularly should expect to receive lower grades in the course, and students who miss more than the equivalent of two weeks of class should consider withdrawing and taking the class in a future semester. Students who know that other commitments will make it impossible to attend at certain times (early mornings, nights, Fridays) should enroll in classes that do not meet at these times.

Grading: There are a total of 1000 points throughout the semester 1000 points
=> The analysis papers are worth 50 points each (100 points)
=> The 1 page book explanation paper is worth 50 points
=> Quizzes are worth ten points each, but the lowest will be dropped (110 points)
=> The 5 page paper is worth 225 points
=> The mid-term is worth 225 points
=> The final is worth 225 points
=> Participation is worth 65 points

EMU Writing Support:
The University Writing Center (115 Halle Library) offers one-to-one writing consulting for both undergraduate and graduate students. Students can make appointments or drop in between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Fridays. One-to-one consulting is also available in the Student Success Center in the First-Year Complex from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. Students should bring a draft of what they’re working on and their assignment.
The UWC also offers small group workshops on various topics related to writing (e.g., Strategies for Successful College Reading; Peer Review; Revising and Editing Your Writing). Descriptions of all UWC workshops will be posted at www.emich.edu/english/writing-center by mid-September. Workshops are offered at various times Monday through Friday in the UWC. To register for a workshop, click the "Register" link from the UWC page.
The Academic Projects Center (116 Halle Library) offers one-to-one consulting for students on writing, research, or technology-related issues. No appointment is required – students can just drop in. The APC is open 11-5 Monday-Thursday. Additional information about the APC can be found at http://www.emich.edu/apc.
Students visiting the Academic Projects Center should bring with them a draft of what they’re working on and their assignment sheet.


Course Schedule
Sept. 5/6 Introduction; The Vernacular Tradition: PP 3 – 8

Sept. 10/11 Stack O Lee stories P 38 and handouts; Brer Rabbit stories PP 142 – 146

Sept 12/13 Phillis Wheatley: “On Being Brought from Africa to America” P 219, “To His Excellency General Washington” P 225
Sept. 17/18 The Literature of Slavery and Freedom: P 151; Olauda Equiano: “An Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olauda Equiano….” (Chapters 1 and 2) P 187
Sept. 19/20 Harriet Jacobs: “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” P 279
Sept. 24/25 Frederick Douglass: “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself” P 385
Sept. 26/27 Frederick Douglass Continued; Two Page Paper #1 Due
Oct. 1/2 The Literature of the Reconstruction: P 541; Booker T. Washington: “Up From Slavery” Chapter I P 570 and Chapter XIV P 594
Oct. 3/4 WEB Du Bois: The Souls of Black Folk “The Forethought” P 692, “Of our Spiritual Strivings” P 693, and “Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others” P 699; One Page Book Explanation Due
Oct. 8/9 Paul Lawrence Dunbar: “An Ante-Bellum Sermon” P 912, “We Wear the Mask” P 918, “Sympathy” P 922; Alice Moore Dunbar Nelson: “Violets” P 937, “I Sit and Sew” P 938;
Oct. 10/11 Harlem Renaissance: Claude McKay: “If We Must Die” P 1006; Countee Cullen: “Yet do I Marvel” P 1341, “Incident” P 1342; Helene Johnson: “Remember Not” P 1353
Oct. 15/16 Zora Neale Hurston: “Sweat” P 1022
Oct. 17/18 Langston Hughes: “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” P 1291, “Jazzonia” P 1293, “Dream Variations” P 1294, “I Too” P 1295, “Dream Boogie” P 1308, “Harlem” P 1308
Oct. 22/23 Realism, Naturalism & Modernism: P 1355; Richard Wright: “The Man who Lived Underground” P 1436; Mid Term Exam Due
Oct. 24/25 James Baldwin: “Sonny’s Blues” P 1728;
Oct. 29/30 Loraine Hansberry: “A Raisin in the Sun” P 1768
Oct. 31/Nov. 1 Loraine Hansberry Continued
Nov. 5/6 Robert Hayden: “Middle Passage” P 1520, “Those Winter Sundays” P 1525
Nov. 7/8 The Black Arts Era: P 1831; Martin Luther King Jr.: “Letter From Birmingham Jail” PP 1896 - 1908; Malcolm X: “The Ballot or the Bullet” PP 116 – 128;
Nov. 12/13 Amiri Baraka: “Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note” P 1939, “In Memory of Radio” P 1939; Nikki Giovanni: “For Saundra” P 2096, “Beautiful Black Men” P 2097; Ishmael Reed: “I am a Cowboy in the Boat of Ra” P 2052; Five Page Paper Due
Nov. 14/15 Literature Since 1975; Octavia Butler: Kindred
Nov. 19/20 Octavia Butler continued
Nov. 21/22 No Class - Thanksgiving
Nov. 26/27 June Jordon: “Poem about My Rights” P 2017; Maya Angelou: “Still I Rise” P 2156; Yusef Komunyakaa: “February in Sydney” P 2529, “Facing It” P 2530 Two Page Paper #2 Due
Nov. 26/27 Alice Walker: “Everyday Use” P 2437
Nov. 28/29 Michelle Cliff: “Within the Veil” P 2505; Nathaniel Mackey: “False Brilhante” P 2534, “Song of the Andoumboulou” P 2536; Paul Beatty Poem TBA (Handout)
Dec. 3/4 T. Geronimo Johnson: Hold It Til It Hurts
Dec. 5/6 T. Geronimo Johnson Continued; Essays on e-reserves TBA
Dec. 10/11 Hip Hop: Gil Scott-Heron: “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” P 80; Public Enemy: “Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos” Handout; NWA: “Fuck tha Police” handout
Final Exam: Sec 006 Mon Dec. 17 9:00-10:30
Sec 000 Tues Dec. 18 9:00-9:30











Book List for the Five Page Paper:
Baldwin, James: Go Tell It on the Mountain
Giovanni’s Room
Another Country
Bambara, Toni Cade: The Salt Eaters
Beatty, Paul: The White boy Shuffle
Tuff
Slumberland
Brown, Wiliam Wells: Clotel or The President’s Daughter
Cooper, J. California: Life is Short but Wide
Danticat, Edwidge: Breath, Eyes, Memory
Ellison, Ralph: Invisible Man
Gaines, Ernest J: I Lesson Before Dying
A Gathering of Old Men
Himes, Chester: If He Hollers Let Him Go
The Real Cool Killers
Hughes, Langston: Not Without Laughter
Johnson, James Weldon: The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man
Jones, Tayari: Silver Sparrow
Larsen, Nella: Quicksand
Passing
Lourde, Audre: Zami: A New Spelling of My Name
Mackey, Nathaniel: Djbot Babhostus’s Run
Morrison, Toni: Sula
The Bluest Eye
Song of Solomon
Beloved
A Mercy
Home
Mosley, Walter: Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned
Devil in a Blue Dress
Naylor, Gloria: The Women of Brewster Place
Reed, Ishmael: Mumbo Jumbo
Reckless Eyeballing
Flight to Canada
Sapphire: Push
Simpson, Karen: Act of Grace
Slim, Iceberg: Pimp
Toomer, Jean: Cane
Walker, Alice: The Color Purple
Whitehead, Colson: The Intuitionist
Sag Harbor
Wilson Harriet: Our Nig
Wright, Richard: Native Son